This week’s fresh listings:

This page is to be updated every Tuesday and will contain all the latest Coin, Medal & Token listings for that particular week.

The more observant of you may have realised that I no longer keep previous "Fresh Listings" coins on this page.

All for sale coins can be found via the category grid on the front page. Most sold coins are now accessible via a new link on that same category grid.

Additions to www.HistoryInCoins.com for week commencing Tuesday 18th February 2025

WG-9081: 1797 George III Copper Cartwheel Penny BOX. At 40mm in height, this box is comprised of a cartwheel penny as base and another for the lid, together with a copper tube for the body of the box imitating x10 more cartwheel pennies. The base coin is fixed. The top pushes into / pulls out of the copper tube in a most pleasing fashion. Possibly a very early 1800's apprentice piece. If you're looking for something numismatic, tactile, useful and quirky, look no further! £195

WG-9082: 1797 George III Copper Cartwheel Penny SMUGGLER'S BOX. At first glance, a standard 1797 George III cartwheel penny. Look closer though and you'll see that this coin cleverly unscrews to reveal a hidden cavity inside. Possibly a very early 1800's apprentice piece. Another story I've heard is that these were used to hide a gold guinea inside so that, for instance, if you were taking a horse & coach trip in Georgian times and were held up by a highwayman, he would not really be interested in a paltry penny. These things have always been termed "Smuggler's Boxes" so clearly there was an element of smuggling involved here, although what you could physically smuggle inside one of these things back in the early 1800's is beyond me! Crucially, the thread mechanism on this coin is in perfect working order - virtually every other example I've previously had has been problematic on the thread. A couple of people have been asking me to source one of these pretty much since Covid - this is the first I've had in all that time! If you're looking for something numismatic, tactile, useful and quirky, look no further! £265

WG-9083: 1797 George III Copper Cartwheel Twopence SMUGGLER'S BOX. At first glance, a standard huge 1797 George III cartwheel twopence. Look closer though and you'll see that this coin cleverly unscrews to reveal a hidden cavity inside. Possibly a very early 1800's apprentice piece. Another story I've heard is that these were used to hide a gold guinea inside so that, for instance, if you were taking a horse & coach trip in Georgian times and were held up by a highwayman, he would not really be interested in a paltry penny. These things have always been termed "Smuggler's Boxes" so clearly there was an element of smuggling involved here, although what you could physically smuggle inside one of these things back in the early 1800's, even in a coin of this size, is beyond me! Crucially, the thread mechanism on this coin is in perfect working order - virtually every other example I've previously had has been problematic on the thread. Further, this is a very different method of manufacture to examples I've previously seen - the thread is set much further into the coin resulting in a very sturdy design indeed. A couple of people have been asking me to source one of these pretty much since Covid - this is the first I've had in all that time! If you're looking for something numismatic, tactile, useful and quirky, look no further! £295

WI-9084: 1769 Rare Irish George III Copper Halfpenny. First "London" coinage, type I, Spink 6612 but a contemporary counterfeit. Contemporary counterfeits were known to have been struck in Birmingham and shipped to Ireland to supplement the meagre 1st (1766 and 1769) and second (1775, 1776, 1781 and 1782) issues. We have an official figure of 50 tones of coin for the 1769 copper halfpence being struck in London. There were no farthings. 50 tons might seem a lot of coin but was in fact completely inadequate for the requirement in Ireland, hence the need to supplement. These contemporary counterfeits were derived from poor dies, were lightweight, being of dubious metal content and were often made to look "worn" before release into circulation (a worn coin attracted much less scrutiny) by a number of ingenious, albeit ham-fisted methods. It was a very serious offence indeed to make or peddle counterfeit coinage, attracting stiff draconian penalties. Two things:

1. The coin is in remarkable grade for any 1st or 2nd issue Irish halfpenny.

2. The dies that were used were what is termed High Execution dies.

The hair on George III was always difficult to get right on the non-Regal dies but it generally wasn't a problem as by the time the coin had been messed around with at the "mint", there wouldn't be much hair left to see. On this coin we have virtually all the hair but as you can see, it's too simplistic compared to the Regal issue. The die orientation on this coin is irregular, being 190 degrees, which is actually quite strange - why go to all the trouble of sinking high execution dies as well as good weight planchets, only to mess up on the easiest thing? It should be 180 degrees. The weight is not particularly good but the copper content looks good. The point of issuing fakes into circulation was, and this is a simplistic example, to send out something that cost you 1/4d to produce in order that you could pass it as 1/2d. Double your money. The dies are way too good for one of these back-street factories to have created. In summary, a high execution, high grade example of an Irish contemporary counterfeit halfpenny. Certainly the best example I've ever seen. £375

Provenance:

ex Spink

WTH-9085: Choice Mary (Solus) Hammered Tudor Silver Groat. Single issue, crowned bust left, initial mark Pomegranate both sides. 1553-4 only. Tower (London) mint, Spink 2492. A very good example in terms of detail - these groats where struck with shallow dies with a propensity for wear on metal that is very different to the issues of Elizabeth 1st, less than ten years hence. Mary was the only child of Henry VIII (her mother was Catherine of Aragon) to survive to adulthood. Mary quickly and efficiently disposed of Lady Jane Gray – proclaimed Queen when Mary’s younger brother Edward VI, died at age 9 – by beheading her, a process not unfamiliar to her, being the daughter of Henry VIII!! This issue was immediately prior to Mary's marriage to Philip of Spain in July of 1554. I was offered this exact same issue, probably on a par with coin this in terms of grade, for £1,400 just this month. An exceptional example. £995

WRS-9086: Roman Silver Legionary Denarius: Legion II - Extraordinary Provenance. Roman Imperatorial coinage, post Second Triumvirate, Mark Antony. Struck Autumn 32 to Spring 31 BC. RSC 27, Sear 349. Legionary denarii is the modern name for a series of Roman silver denarius coins issued by Mark Antony in the eastern Mediterranean during the last war of the Roman Republic from 32 to 31 BC, in the lead up to the Battle of Actium. They were struck for one purpose only - to pay the legionary soldiers. This coin is Legion II - present in the British invasion force of the imperial propraetor Aulus Plautius in AD43, during which it was placed under the command of the young legionary legate Titus Flavius Vespasianus, later to become emperor. Twenty Three legions were honoured in this "Legionary" denarius issue. The coins were struck in reduced silver content (!) and so survived the rigours of circulation much better than standard denarii. This meant that they continued to be used in circulation and would have been present on the invasion force of AD 43. The entire legion apart from a small caretaker force, plus detachments of Legio VI Victrix and Legio XX Valeria Victrix, was put to work on the construction of Hadrian’s Wall. Part of the very famous Helmingham Hoard of 2019 - the largest mixed hoard of British Iron Age and Roman coins ever found in Britain. This hoard was deposited AD 46-7, only 3 or 4 years after Legion II landed. Sold with an impressive array of tickets & literature here and here. The large A4 double-sided glossy document makes very interesting reading as it attempts to focus in on the individual who deposited this hoard into the ground. A very good coin for issue, bearing in mind its nearly 80 years of circulation, but more than that, true history in a coin! £295

Provenance:

ex Helmingham Hoard of 2019